CHICAGO — Two suburban Chicago physicians have been sentenced to federal prison for prescribing opioids to individuals who lacked a legitimate medical need for the drugs.
Stanley David Demorest, 67, of Bloomingdale, Ill., and Nicholas Recchia, 64, of River Grove, Ill., pleaded guilty earlier this year to health care fraud and related charges. Demorest pleaded guilty to one count of health care fraud and one count of unlawfully using another person’s DEA registration number to dispense controlled substances. Recchia pleaded guilty to one count of health care fraud.
From 2015 to 2020, Demorest managed Demorest Consultants LLC, a medical practice in Melrose Park, Ill. Recchia was employed as a physician at the practice. During that time, the pair agreed to dispense hydrocodone, oxycodone, fentanyl, and other controlled substances to individuals who visited Demorest Consultants but whom Demorest and Recchia knew had no legitimate medical need for the drugs. In some instances, Demorest used Recchia’s name and DEA Registration Number to issue prescriptions for controlled substances to patients.
The defendants caused pharmacies to submit numerous claims to Medicare and Medicaid seeking payment for the improper prescriptions. Both defendants admitted in plea agreements that they dispensed controlled substances outside the usual course of medical practice and without a legitimate medical purpose.
On Dec. 14, 2023, U.S. District Judge John F. Kness sentenced Demorest to two years in federal prison. Recchia was sentenced to six months in prison.
The sentences were announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and other law enforcement officials. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Hayes argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum that knowing and intentional violations of controlled substances laws by medical professionals during this time must be met with serious sanctions.
“During a time of epidemic prescription opioid abuse, a trained physician is the last person that the public should expect to knowingly and intentionally issue unauthorized prescriptions for opioids,” Hayes said.
Related Federal Cases
- Nicole Bogan, Health Care Fraud, Columbus GA, 2013 · Georgia
- Nazaret Chakrian, ID Theft and Wire Fraud, California 2023 · Idaho
- Letitia James, Suppressed Trans Health Info, New York NY, 2023 · Connecticut
- Eric Holub, Tax Withholding Fraud, Cedar Rapids IA, 2023 · Iowa
- Terry L. Gantt, ID Theft and Wire Fraud, Cedar Rapids IA, 2012 · Idaho
Key Facts
- State: Illinois
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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